This hasn’t turned out to be the week the Tigers hoped for, as they lost their third game of the series against the Nationals 4-2.
The Tigers were hoping to come away with a series win over the Nationals in their afternoon game on Wednesday and cruise into their farewell-to-Verlander weekend series on a high note. To get the job done, they had Framber Valdez on the mound up against Richard Lovelady, serving in the Opener role for the Nationals.
Valdez got things started as he so often does with a quick
1-2-3 inning. Surprising strikeout-heavy, with two outs coming on strikeouts and only one on the groundball. Is Framber going through an image shift? In the home half, Hao-Yu Lee got a one-out single, but the Tigers were not able to convert the baserunner.
Another quick 1-2-3 inning for the Nationals in the second. Dillon Dingler got a leadoff walk in the home half, then a sacrifice bunt back to the pitcher by Max Clark pushed Dingler to second. That was it for Lovelady, who was replaced by Brad Lord. Lord got the final two outs of the inning, leaving a baserunner in scoring position.
Valdez continued to dominate against the Nats with another three-up, three- down inning, back to his bread and butter, the groundout. Kevin McGonigle got a one-out double in the bottom of the third, but once again the Tigers simply couldn’t manage to get their runner home. However, Kevin continues to make history this season, getting on base 261 times.
In the fourth, we saw the first signs of struggle for Valdez. With two outs, Brady House singled, then right after that CJ Abrams walked. Valdez righted the ship, though, getting the final out with no runs scoring. Riley Greene took a leadoff walk in the bottom half, but a strikeout, then a double play from Max Clark ended the inning.
Harry Ford got a one-out walk in the top of the fifth. Then a wild pitch allowed him to advance to second. Nasim Nunez walked. While Valdez did get out of the inning with no runs scored, this would be a smart time for AJ Hinch to tighten up the leash, because as we’ve seen with Valdez this season, when his command starts to get shaky and he faces the lineup for a third time, things tend to go downhill very quickly. In the bottom of the inning, Zach McKinstry got a two-out walk and the Nationals went back to their bullpen for Will Dion. McGonigle then singled, but despite some good hustle, the Tigers simply couldn’t manage to get a runner home.
Andres Chaparro singled to start the sixth. House then singled. CJ Abrams was the third single in a row, scoring Chappro. Abrams was out at first in an attempted double play. Hinch made the right move at this point, pulling Valdez for Tyler Kinley. Unfortunately, with two outs, Kinley gave up a home run to Yohandy Morales. They got the final out on the next at-bat, but the Nationals now had a 3-0 lead. After the inning ended, Valdez’s final line was 5.1 IP, 4 H, 2 R, 2 ER, 3 BB, 6 K on 87 pitches. Overall, it was a great outing for him in the early innings, but as is so often the case, once the command started to slip, it was time for him to go. It was just unfortunate that the move resulted in a big hit.
Ben Malgeri quickly got one back for Detroit in the home half with a leadoff solo home run in the bottom of the sixth.
Max Clark laid down a two-out double, but the Tigers would have to settle for just the one run.
Jacob Waguespack was the new pitcher for the seventh. With one out, Nunez singled. Then, annoyingly, he stole second and third back-to-back. The hustle paid off as a Woods groundout allowed Nunez to score. It was the only run the Nationals managed in the inning, but it pushed them further into the lead late in the game. John Peck got a leadoff walk in the bottom of the inning. Peck stole second, and with two outs the Nationals went back to their bullpen for Jack Sinclair. He got the final out of the inning.
CJ Abrams got a one-out walk in the top of the eighth, but Dylan Crews grounded into a double play to end the threat. Erik Tolman came in for the home half. Riley Greene got a one-out walk. With two outs a wild pitch allowed Greene to advance to second. Max Clark, having himself quite a game, walked to put two runners on. Yovanny Cruz replaced Tolman and got the final out of the inning.
Kenley Jansen came out for the Tigers in the top of the ninth, and he got the side out in order. Jace Jung got a one-out single. Then McGonigle singled. With two outs, there was a brief pitch com delay, then Malgeri came up and hit an RBI single. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the rally they hoped for and the next run was the final out of the game.
Final: Nationals 4, Tigers 2
